Archive for October, 2019

There is much to celebrate and birthdays are perfect excuses. We celebrate the gift of life, and we remind ourselves that truly, gratitude resides in the heart. And so, we stop counting the candles on the cake and instead give thanks for the multitude of blessings. On my 60th birthday, I celebrated by gathering my family for a weeklong trip to South Korea. To this day, we tag it as our best-ever family trip. Everything went right on that trip. Everyone in good spirit. When we returned, I decided to throw an impromptu party with family and a few friends from college days. You bet we all felt like the teenagers we were when we first met and lived together in a dorm.

Seoul, South Korea. 2013.

Hotel Celeste. 60th Birthday

It has been a blur since. Having turned 60, I went full-ON with my travel adventures. I remember celebrating a birthday in India. Then another in Madridafter a nearly 2-week trip around Moroccowhich included spending a night in a bivouac in the Sahara. Back home, we didn’t miss getting together again for a birthday weekend in beautiful Balesin Island. At 64, I struck a dream destination off my bucket list. Macchu Picchu thrilled me no end, and no racing heartbeat could stop me from enjoying this heritage site.

India. 2014.

Casa Botin. Madrid. 2015.

Balesin Island. Quezon.

Macchu Picchu. 2017.

Turning 65, it would have been a good idea to hold a party but my Sydney-based sister and brother-in-law were celebrating their50th wedding anniversary so off I went Down Under for a birthday and golden wedding anniversary celebration. My friends based in California lost no time to join me and we had a blast. I’m not really into big parties anyway, and celebrating with family and friends “on a trip” is really my idea of a birthday celebration.

Sydney. 2018.

There are many ways to celebrate birthdays. You can plan all you want but sometimes the best plans come unhinged. Not because they were necessary spoilers, but more so because they couldn’t be postponed any longer. The last 5 years or so breezed by, packing many unique adventures. As I kept still the last so many weeks, I found time to pull apart many such recent memories threatening to get blurred with the passing of time. Some weight attaches to each — some light, others heavy with meaning. By no design, the ones that stick out are those that one cannot explain. Forever grateful for such unexplained, intuitive wisdom. Guided. And guarded. One tries not to overthink while slowing down to appreciate life and becoming more aware of one’s mortality. Not much else to say but “Thank You”. I need not understand every single thing. Thank You.

It is NOT a first time for us. Time and again we'd set off for the love of..... FOOD. in this case OYSTERS. AND MANGOES. You see I grew up in a place where oyster farming was a family business. Many weekends were spent visiting old folks armed with a p

I started this year 2014 choking on my doce uvas 12 grapes as the clock in Puerta del Sol Madrid struck 12. Lots of merriment with a thick crowd gathered around this landmark sharing booze as spirits literally and figuratively ran high. My f

We snagged another great airfare deal with this ManilaDumaguete CityManila trip last June. Me and my 3 travel buddies. With lots of help from a young travel blogger we likewise booked rooms in a boutique hotel and island hopping tours while basing ou

Back again down under. This time under better circumstances. Surprise Surprise Pulled a major one on my sister the only remaining member of my original immediate family who turned 70 last April 27. Yes the same and only sister I

Spending Christmas in Madrid There is much to explore to discover and to enjoy while homebased in the capital. Homebased In MadridI should get a prize for visiting so many belens Nativity Scenes and riding on the Navidad Bus